Back Ground

Several years ago I decided to make a career change. I had been roofing in Phoenix AZ for many years and did not feel like I was fulfilling my destiny. I decided to go back to school and become a nurse. And so with my wife Kendra by my side I embarked on a remarkable journey , a journey of changes foreseen and unforeseen. When I began my schooling, nurses in Phoenix were in very high demand, hospital census was high, and sign on bonuses were the norm. Not so when I graduated. So after three months of fruitless searching in AZ, Kendra and I began to research compact states, and decided to apply at Rapid City Regional Hospital in Rapid City South Dakota, where I was eventually hired. The result of this hire was the unforeseen change, we had talked of moving to another area after graduation but did not imagine SD would be where we would end up. However, we fell in love with the area on first arrival. The Black hills essentially began right in town, Deadwood, Lead, Spearfish, the Badlands, Hot Springs, Sturgis, and Mount Rushmore are all just a few miles away. Also, we are fortunate to have a congregation of 70 in Gillette Wyoming, which is only 150 miles west of us.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Five months we have been here in Rapid City. I am in love with this area, that said, I am starting to feel the itch. That oh, so familiar itch to see what lies over the next hill. My job is exciting to say the least. We have 5 traveling nurses for the summer months, I have worked with 2 of them so far and both told me the same thing " After one day here I was ready to leave this hospital, never have I seen such an acuity of pts. on a 4 to 1 ratio." Welcome to Rapid, we call it the Regional Way. Actually I don't know any different, neither do most of the other staff as this was there first job and they just take in stride. We just got a knew director and she stopped me from working straight nights even though I signed a paper with Regional Health that that is all I would work. She says I will get better experience working both shifts. Probably, but days are way busier with Drs. and family and tests, not to mention discharges. We also do most of our own admits from the ED. This director is making me upset, so I will soon began a job search out of this state, just would like to spend one summer in the Black Hills.